Puri: The drone surveillance to trace out the missing deer in Cyclone FANI-ravaged Balukhand Sanctuary is underway. This was informed by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Wildlife Ajay Mohapatra on Thursday. The decision of mobilising drone system was taken up by the State government after over 4,000 spotted deer besides some jackals and hyenas had gone missing […]

Puri: The drone surveillance to trace out the missing deer in Cyclone FANI-ravaged Balukhand Sanctuary is underway.

This was informed by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Wildlife Ajay Mohapatra on Thursday.

The decision of mobilising drone system was taken up by the State government after over 4,000 spotted deer besides some jackals and hyenas had gone missing from the sanctuary as Cyclone FANI battered coastal areas of the State.

He further stated that thatched shelter structures to protect deer from the summer heat and manual filling of dry water bodies will be carried out before the onset of monsoon.

This apart, the Forest Department has also decided to buy 50 acres of land to cultivate food crops for Aska black bucks. The project will be initially implemented on one-acre of land on a pilot-basis, Mohapatra added.

Earlier on Wednesday, the forest department spotted some deer while grazing in Balukhand sanctuary through the cameras set up in the meadows.

The sanctuary spread over an area of 72 km², is located along the Bay of Bengal coast, between the towns of Puri and Konark. The sanctuary includes sandy beaches, coastal dunes, groves of introduced Casuarina trees planted in 1916-17 and cashew plantations.

Puri: Spotted deer of Balukhand sanctuary, who all went missing post-cyclone Fani, have been spotted again in the forest, informed Divisional Forest Officer Harshvardhan Udgata. The DFO further informed that the deer were spotted while grazing in the Balukhand sanctuary yesterday by the cameras set up in the meadows. The forest official also ended the […]

Puri: Spotted deer of Balukhand sanctuary, who all went missing post-cyclone Fani, have been spotted again in the forest, informed Divisional Forest Officer Harshvardhan Udgata.

The DFO further informed that the deer were spotted while grazing in the Balukhand sanctuary yesterday by the cameras set up in the meadows. The forest official also ended the speculations that the missing animals were killed in the devastating cyclone.

“We had installed camera traps in the meadows near Balukhand range office yesterday. Last night between 11: 05 PM and 3: 30 AM, many deer were spotted grazing in the meadows,” DFO Udgata said adding that they have plans to set up more camera traps in other places as well where deer could be present.

On Tuesday, the Odisha government decided to use drones to locate the missing spotted deer.

Around 4,000 spotted deer had gone missing from Balukhand-Konark sanctuary during the cyclone Fani which left a trail of devastation in coastal areas of the State.